This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz Ballard.

Good evening. We are following two major stories tonight, including our exclusive interview with President Trump.

But we start overseas, where the search for survivors from that powerful earthquake in Southeast Asia is growing even more frantic and even more tragic.

This was a terrifying scene in Thailand's capital of Bangkok when it hit.

The violent 7.7 magnitude quake, reducing this 33-story high-rise to rubble.

And tonight, the death toll is astonishing.

In neighboring Myanmar, where the epicenter was, more than 1,600 people have been killed.

That number is expected to rise even more in both countries as the race is on to find survivors.

Our Janus Mackey Freyer starts us off tonight from Bangkok.

In Thailand, the desperate race to find survivors from a catastrophic earthquake, search dogs and drones being used to spot any sign of life.

As international aid is pouring into the region, U.S. soldiers are now on the ground in Bangkok.

Honestly, we're just trying to get a handle on what's going on right now.

They're assisting in recovery efforts, where today a massive pile of debris remains.

After a 33-story high-rise that had been under construction, buckled and collapsed,

sending workers running for their lives and trapping dozens of others.

It is painstaking work. The heavy equipment has been working to peel back the layers of concrete and debris,

trying to reach those people trapped inside.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake had its epicenter in neighboring Myanmar.

A poor and isolated country with an

ongoing civil war. State television today announcing the death toll there is now greater than

1,600 people. Thousands more are injured. The hospitals overrun, as patients can be seen

in beds outside this hospital in the capital.

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